Method for linking circular knitted garment sections

ABSTRACT

A method for linking together by stitching in a linking machine toe pieces and upper stocking sections using a linking machine utilizing separable work cylinders which are loaded with stocking sections at separate work stations. The toe pieces and upper stocking sections are individually circular knitted, leaving a last yarn course loosely formed on each stocking section to enable the loops of the last yarn course of the stocking sections to be mounted on the points of the work cylinder by operators at individual work stations. The loaded work cylinders are transferred to the linking machine, the stocking sections are joined, and the work cylinders are unloaded in a smooth, continuous operation.

United States Patent [191 Anfruns Aug. 6, 1974 METHOD FOR LINKING CIRCULAR KNITTED GARMENT SECTIONS 22 Filed: Oct. 29, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 410,893

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Scr. No. 217,991, Jan. 14,

1972, abandoned.

1,923,005 8/1933 Vagler [12/25 2,167,104 7/1939 DeSpain 112/25 2,948,240 8/1960 Burd 6t 11. 112/27 D 3,487,797 1/1970 Peloggio 112/27 Hulin 112/25 Merkle 112/25 Primary ExaminerGeorge V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, or FirmBacon & Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A method for linking together by stitching in a linking machine toe pieces and upper stocking sections using a linking machine utilizing separable work cylinders which are loaded with stocking sections at separate work stations. The toe pieces and upper stocking sections are individually circular knitted, leaving a last yarn course loosely formed on each stocking section to enable the loops of the last yarn course of the stocking sections to be mounted on the points of the work cylinder by operators at individual work stations. The loaded work cylinders are transferred to the linking machine, the stocking sections are joined, and the work cylinders are unloaded in a smooth, continuous operation.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENIED AUG 61974 SHEET 1 OF 2 METHOD FOR LINKING CIRCULAR KNITTED GARMENT SECTIONS CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of US. application Ser. No. 217,991, filed Jan. 14, 1972, now abandoned. The invention is related to the apparatus shown and claimed in US. application Ser. No. 259,265, filed June 2, 1972, by the same inventor as named in this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improved method for linking together circular knitted garment sections. Prior art apparatus for accomplishing such an operation is shown in US. Pat. Nos. 1,026,808, 1,966,337, and 2,862,464.

The inventors application Ser. No. 259,265 relates to one form of apparatus intended to be used for accomplishing the presently claimed method and the specification thereof is incorporated herein by reference. Applicant otherwise is unaware of existing methods used in the knitting industry for joining separately knitted toe pieces to stocking upper sections by an assembly line technique as presently disclosed and claimed, using a machine that has been designed for enabling' such an operation to be carried out in an efficient, expeditious manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A linking machine for stitching together separate circular knitted garment sections has been designed to use annular work holding cylinders which are capable of being inserted separately in the linking machine after the garment sections have been placed therein in a particular manner as disclosed below. The work holders are loaded at separate work stations apart from the linking machine, inserted and removed individually into and from the linking machine where the stitching operation is performed, and emptied of the joined stockings at the end of the work cycle.

The method of this invention is carried out in connection with separately knitted stocking sections which are individually formed in circular knitting apparatus, which, in this instance, forms stocking upper sections and stocking toe pieces having individual toe coverings. The stocking sections are formed so that the knitting operation leaves a last course of yarn loosely looped about an annular opening of each section in the area where that section is to be joined to the mating section, be it the toe piece or the upper section. The method furthermore is to be carried out through the use of the separate work cylinders referred to above. The work cylinders are annular members having an annular row of axially extending points which extend into the stitching area of the linking machine when the cylinders are placed in the machine for the stitching operation.

The method embodying this invention comprises, therefor, preparing individual circular knitted toe piece and stocking upper sections, preferably with a loose row of yarn loops in the last course of knitting where the stocking sections are to be joined; reversing the stocking sections inside out; placing each reversed upper stocking section in a work cylinder so that the yarn loops to be joined are in the points area of the cylinder, with the remaining section supported axially within the work cylinder; placing the individual yarn loops to be joined on the points of the work cylinder; placing each reversed toe piece within the work cylinder with the yarn loops of the toe piece to be joined placed on the points of the cylinder in paired relationship with the loops of the upper stocking section thereon, with the toe piece itself extending coaxially within the stocking upper section inside the work cylinder; drawing the loose course of yarn of each stocking section taut on the points of the cylinder; advancing each thusly loaded work cylinder to the linking machine where the loaded cylinders are consecutively placed in the linking machine and the loops of both stocking sections are joined together by a suitable loop stitching operation; and finally removing each cylinder from the machine as each stitching operation is com' pleted and removing the completed stockings from the work cylinders outside the linking machine.

Prior art devices in this field have not provided a means for enabling an assembly line type method such as is presently claimed to be carried out efficiently, and have required linking machines to sit idle while each knitted workpiece to be joined was mounted on the points of the disc of the linking machine one by one. Thus, in accordance with past practice, each garment or other piece of knitted fabric to be joined has sequentially required that the linking machine be stopped, the loops of the knitted goods mounted on the points of the disc in the machine; the stitching operation carried out and the joined workpiece removed from the points of the disc, and so forth, for each cycle. Moreover, stocking units are not conventionally formed by joining individually circular knitted toe pieces and upper sections, but rather involve knitting a single workpiece having a toe section flap which is folded over and joined to the remainder of the stocking by a straight stitch operation which joins the loops of the two stocking edges along a seam area. Thus, the present invention has as its objective the forming of stockings from individually circular knitted toe piece and upper stocking sections in an assembly-line manner enabling an efficient and expeditious technique for forming completed stockings using a particular linking machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the linking machine used in carrying out the method embodying this invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of FIG. 1, with partially cutaway details;

FIG. 3 shows the work cylinder with the stocking sections mounted on the points;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a circular knitted toe piece and stocking upper section with a loose course of yarn loops on each piece in the area of the stocking edges to be joined; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting the method of the instant invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 which show the linking machine apparatus with which the method of the present invention is to be carried out, it should be noted that a full description of this structure is contained in the inventors application Ser. No. 259,265 referred to above and to which reference may be made for a complete description of the various details of the machine,

except for the stitching needle details which are not illustrated in that application.

In brief, linking machine 1 comprises a fixed base or frame unit 2 from which extend a pair of support brackets 3 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) from which extends a vertical member 4 on the near side of the machine as seen in FIG. 1. The linking machine 1 further includes a sewing head generally designated at 5 which includes a suitable needle or needle assembly 6, all supported on the base or frame 2 by means of a suitable support means 7.

Pivotally supported for motion about a transverse axis 8 by brackets 3 is a work cylinder support assembly 9 which supports work cylinder 10 on the linking machine. The work cylinder 10 is shown in FIG. 3 and comprises an annular member having a single, annular row of points 11 extending axially from one end thereof, this being the end of the cylinder which extends into the stitching area of the linking machine 1, as seen in FIG. 1. A portion 12 of the periphery of cylinder l is tapered inwardly towards the points 11 for reasons which will be made clear below. Ratchet teeth 13 extend about the circumference of the cylinder 10 as shown. The inside area of cylinder 10 is open and smooth to support the stocking sections to be joined therein.

As shown in FIG. 4, a toe piece section 14 having individual toe covers 14' and an upper stocking section 15 are circular knitted separately, leaving loose yarn courses l6, 17, respectively, on the open end of each section where they are to be joined together. Loose yarn ends 16, 17 are shown where the yarn course is cut off the knitting machine, and these loose ends are used to pull the loops of the last yarn course taut at the proper time, as described below.

Again, with reference to FIG. 3, each stocking section 14, 15 is mounted in cylinder 10 in accordance with the method of this invention, namely, the upper stocking section 15 is reversed, the yarn loops 17 are mounted on the points 11 of cylinder 10, with the stocking section 15 being supported axially within the cylinder 10 as shown; and then the toe piece section 14 is reversed and also mounted on the points 11, with the toe piece 14 extending coaxially within stocking upper section 15 within cylinder 10. The loose loops l6 and 17, which have been purposely left loose to facilitate the mounting of the stocking pieces on the points 11 are then drawn taut by pulling yarn ends 16, 17 and the loaded cylinder is ready for insertion in the linking machine 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 again, the work cylinder support assembly 9 includes an outer ring 18 which is pivotally supported by brackets 3 for rotation about axis 8 to pivot the assembly 9 away from the stitching area at a prescribed time in the linking operation by means of actuator arm 19. Mounted for rotation by bearings 20 within outer ring 18 is an inner ring 21 having a tapered inner surface 22 corresponding to the tapered peripheral area 12 of cylinder 10. Inner ring 21 can rotate completely within outer ring 18. Thus, a cylinder 10 can be inserted within inner ring 21 and urged into a tight frictional fit within ring 21 so that cylinder 10 is thereby relatively rotatably supported on the linking machine, both about its own longitudinal axia and about a transverse axis 8.

In a manner well known to the art, the loops 16, 17 are joined by a loop stitching process in the stitching area of the linking machine 1 by means of a needle stitching system generally shown at 6. The points 11 of cylinder 10 extend into this stitching area during the normal stitching operation of the machine in the position it is shown in FIG. 1. Each loop 16, 17 of stocking sections 14, 15 is joined by the needle system performing a sewing operation on each pair of loops to be joined sequentially around all the points. The seam is on the inside of the stocking, basically, and is smooth and comfortable for the wearer.

For indexing the cylinder 10 around its longitudinal axis about a small increment of rotation sufficient to index each point to the stitching area, a reciprocating indexing drive rod 23 driven synchronously with the needle drive (not shown) rocks a bell crank unit 24 which reciprocates drive rod 25 attached to indexing drive ring 26. Drive ring 26 therefore oscillates in the direction of arrows 27 (FIG. 2) during the stitching operation. Oscillation of ring 26 causes detent element 28 to engage ratchet teeth 13 of ring 10 for causing intermittent unidirectional motion of this element about its longitudinal axis within the support assembly 9. Second detent element 29 fixed to outer ring 18 by means of bolt 30 prevents reverse rotation of cylinder 10 during the indexing sequence.

The cylinder support 9 further includes means for positively disengaging cylinder 10 from a friction fit re lationship with inner ring 21 in the form of a threaded release ring 31 which is operable by handle 32 to be threaded into or out of indexing ring 26 by steeply pitched threads for quickly releasing the cylinder 10 at the end of a stitching operation.

The indexed cam element 33 having cam track 34 engaging cam follower 35 on actuator arm 19 is driven in synchronizm with the needle drive system whereby, at the end of a stitching cycle, the entire cylinder support assembly 9 may be automatically pivoted about axis 8 to remove points 11 from the needle area, and to facilitate removal and loading of the cylinders 10 from and into machine 1. The needles would be stopped, of course, upon such end of cycle being reached. Microswitch means 36 cooperating with cam 33 would enable the accomplishment of this function.

In accordance with the method of this invention, and with reference to FIG. 5 of the drawings, circular knitted toe piece and stocking upper sections 14 and 15 are prepared in advance as described earlier above. They are then mounted on points 11 of work cylinders 10 at a first work station by operators who individually load upper sections 15 and toe pieces 14 in the cylinders 10. The loaded cylinders are transferred to the linking ma chine by suitable means, including a conveyor if desired, where they are sequentially placed in the machine for the performance of the linking operation and then removed at the end of each joining cycle. The cylinders 10 are then removed from the linking machine area to another work station where they are unloaded of the joined stocking unit. The empty work cylinders can then be routed to the first loading stations for a closed loop operation.

The improvement in the art and the benefits of this method of handling circular knitted garment sections are evident. The linking machine runs substantially continuously; the assembly line technique enables unskilled workers to load and unload the work cylinders in advance of and after the linking operation; the cost 1. A method for linking circular knitted garment sections comprising toe pieces and upper sections of 5 stockings along their respective peripheral edges using a linking machine having loop stitching needles cooperating with the points of a removable annular work cylinder having an annular row of axially extending points thereon, the linking machine indexing said work cylinder about its longitudinal axis in synchronizm with the operation of the needles of the linking machine, whereby the needles may apply loop stitches to the loops of the knitted workpieces loaded on said work cylinder with the loops of the last yarn course of each workpiece set on the points of said work cylinder in paired relationship, comprising:

1. loading the circular knitted stocking upper section in the work cylinder and placing the loops of the last yarn course of said upper section in the area of stocking to be joined on the said points of said work cylinder;

2. loading the circular knitted toe piece section in the work cylinder by placing the loops of the last yarn course of said toe piece section in the area of the stocking to be joined on said points of said work cylinder, the loops of both upper and toe piece sections being placed on individual cylinder points in pairs to be individually joined by loop stitches; and both stocking sections being supported coaxially at least in part within the work cylinder;

3. placing thus loaded work cylinders consecutively in said linking machine and loop stitching the individual yarn loops of said workpieces on each work cylinder by said stitching needles of said linking 6 machine, said loop stitching being progressively performed about the circumference of said points of each of said work cylinders;

4. removing individual work cylinders consecutively from said linking machine upon completion of each loop stitching operation; and, unloading joined stocking sections from each of said work cylinders after they are removed from the linking operation.

2. The method recited in claim 1 wherein said upper stocking section and said toe piece section are reversed inside out prior to the placement of their loops on the points of the work cylinder.

3. The method of claim 2 further wherein the last yarn course on each workpiece is set loose during its fabrication in the area of the stocking to be joined, and wherein the method of claim 1 further includes the additional step between recited steps 2 and 3 of claim 1 of drawing said last yarn course taut after said loops of said workpiece are placed on the points of the said work cylinder.

4. The method recited in claim 3 including providing individual work stations for carrying out each of said steps of loading each of said work cylinders with a stocking upper section; loading each work cylinder with a stocking toe piece section; drawing the said loose yarn courses taut; placing and removing the loaded work cylinders into and from the linking machine; and unloading the said joined stockings from the work cylinders; the method further including the providing of movable work transfer means between individual work stations for enabling the recited method to be carried out in a continuous, consecutive manner between all work stations. 

1. A method for linking circular knitted garment sections comprising toe pieces and upper sections of stockings along their respective peripheral edges using a linking machine having loop stitching needles cooperating with the points of a removable annular work cylinder having an annular row of axially extending points thereon, the linking machine indexing said work cylinder about its longitudinal axis in synchronizm with the operation of the needles of the linking machine, whereby the needles may apply loop stitches to the loops of the knitted workpieces loaded on said work cylinder with the loops of the last yarn course of each workpiece set on the points of said work cylinder in paired relationship, comprising:
 1. loading the circular knitted stocking upper section in the work cylinder and placing the loops of the last yarn course of said upper section in the area of stocking to be joined on the said points of said work cylinder;
 2. loading the circular knitted toe piece section in the work cylinder by placing the loops of the last yarn course of said toe piece section in the area of the stocking to be joined on said points of said work cylinder, the loOps of both upper and toe piece sections being placed on individual cylinder points in pairs to be individually joined by loop stitches; and both stocking sections being supported coaxially at least in part within the work cylinder;
 3. placing thus loaded work cylinders consecutively in said linking machine and loop stitching the individual yarn loops of said workpieces on each work cylinder by said stitching needles of said linking machine, said loop stitching being progressively performed about the circumference of said points of each of said work cylinders;
 4. removing individual work cylinders consecutively from said linking machine upon completion of each loop stitching operation; and, unloading joined stocking sections from each of said work cylinders after they are removed from the linking operation.
 2. loading the circular knitted toe piece section in the work cylinder by placing the loops of the last yarn course of said toe piece section in the area of the stocking to be joined on said points of said work cylinder, the loOps of both upper and toe piece sections being placed on individual cylinder points in pairs to be individually joined by loop stitches; and both stocking sections being supported coaxially at least in part within the work cylinder;
 2. The method recited in claim 1 wherein said upper stocking section and said toe piece section are reversed inside out prior to the placement of their loops on the points of the work cylinder.
 3. The method of claim 2 further wherein the last yarn course on each workpiece is set loose during its fabrication in the area of the stocking to be joined, and wherein the method of claim 1 further includes the additional step between recited steps 2 and 3 of claim 1 of drawing said last yarn course taut after said loops of said workpiece are placed on the points of the said work cylinder.
 3. placing thus loaded work cylinders consecutively in said linking machine and loop stitching the individual yarn loops of said workpieces on each work cylinder by said stitching needles of said linking machine, said loop stitching being progressively performed about the circumference of said points of each of said work cylinders;
 4. removing individual work cylinders consecutively from said linking machine upon completion of each loop stitching operation; and, unloading joined stocking sections from each of said work cylinders after they are removed from the linking operation.
 4. The method recited in claim 3 including providing individual work stations for carrying out each of said steps of loading each of said work cylinders with a stocking upper section; loading each work cylinder with a stocking toe piece section; drawing the said loose yarn courses taut; placing and removing the loaded work cylinders into and from the linking machine; and unloading the said joined stockings from the work cylinders; the method further including the providing of movable work transfer means between individual work stations for enabling the recited method to be carried out in a continuous, consecutive manner between all work stations. 